Green v. Stacy

62 N.W. 627, 90 Wis. 46, 1895 Wisc. LEXIS 222
CourtWisconsin Supreme Court
DecidedApril 3, 1895
StatusPublished
Cited by4 cases

This text of 62 N.W. 627 (Green v. Stacy) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Wisconsin Supreme Court primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Green v. Stacy, 62 N.W. 627, 90 Wis. 46, 1895 Wisc. LEXIS 222 (Wis. 1895).

Opinion

Pinney, J.

1. The copartnership between the plaintiff and defendant was dissolved when the defendant sold out the stock of goods at Keshena belonging to the firm and terminated its business. As there was no agreement to the contrary, each partner had then a right to insist on a sale of' the partnership assets and that they be converted into-money, and neither had the right to have the partnership property or any portion of it divided in specie. The right to wind up its affairs — that is to say, to get in its credits, convert its assets into money, pay its debts, and divide the residue — belonged as much to one of the late partners as to-another. If recourse is had to the court for that purpose, it will, if necessary, appoint a receiver, direct a sale of the-assets and payment of partnership debts, settle all questions-[52]*52of account between the partners, and make division of the residue, if any, in proper proportions. Lindley, Partn. (6th. ed.), 602-604. This action was instituted to effect these purposes. It was as essential to the proper winding up of the affairs of the firm that an account should be taken of its ■debts or dealings with third persons as of its assets or of the dealings and accounts of the partners of the firm. 2 Daniell, Ch. Prac. *1249. The rights of the firm creditors are worked ■out through the equities of the partners, upon a dissolution, to have the partnership property applied to the payment of the debts of the partnership. The rights of partners are restricted to the residue that may remain after the payment of the creditors and the adjustment of the accounts of the partners. Lindley, Partn. 430; Tobey v. McFarlin, 115 Mass. 101. It does not appear that any proper account has been taken or stated of the partnership debts. Each partner had . an equal right to insist that the partnership assets should be first applied to the payment of its debts and then to the .adjustment of their partnership claims as against each other. It is only the residue, if any, that may be divided between them as profits. The court should have reduced the notes, -accounts, etc., of the face amount of $11,000, to money, by the collection or sale of them through a receiver, before rendering a final judgment charging the defendant with a gross sum as the plaintiff’s share of the profits, upon the supposition and belief that the uncollected assets would more than pay the unpaid debts to the amount of $600.

An account of all partnership matters and dealings is essential to a final decree in an action for accounting by one partner against the other, for all partnership matters should 'be adjusted by the decree. The rule is stated to be that “no personal decree is to be rendered against individual partners until the assets have been converted into money; that is to say, the excess of receipts by a partner over his -disbursements is not to be ordered paid in by him to the re[53]*53ceiver before the assets have been exhausted, but is a mere item to be debited to him on the final balance; nor, -where all the debts have been paid except what is owing from one partner to the other, should this be ordered paid until the assets are collected,— that is, the creditor partner is to be paid out of the proceeds of the assets if possible.” Bates, Partn. § 971. And this view seems to be well sustained, Tyng v. Thayer, 8 Allen, 391; Paine v. Paine, 15 Gray, 299, 300; Brinley v. Kupfer, 6 Pick. 181; Wild v. Milne, 26 Beav. 505; Rosenstiel v. Gray, 112 Ill. 286; McGillvray v. Moser, 43 Kan. 219; Johnson v. Mantz, 69 Iowa, 710; Allison v. Davidson, 2 Dev. Eq. 79, 87; Moore v. Wheeler, 10 W. Va. 35, 41.

The defendant was entitled to have the partnership property and assets reduced to money by sale or collection, and applied to the payment of the debts of the partnership, before the plaintiff could have a judgment im, personam against him for his supposed share of the profits. Eor this reason the judgment of the circuit court will have to be reversed, and the cause remanded with directions to appoint a receiver for that purpose.

2. As the’ defendant denied the existence of the partnership, and denied that profits had been realized, the rule laid down in Caroll v. Little, 73 Wis. 52, should be applied to-the case, and interest on the sum finally found due should be allowed only from the commencement of the action. This proper here to state that the defendant was not entitled to any greater sum for interest on goods or cash contributed' than the $400 stipulated in the written contract between the parties. The evidence does not establish any subsequent-agreement for any other sum as interest, and therefore his-claim in that respect was properly disallowed. Bates, Partn. § 781; 1 Lindley, Partn. 389.

3. The bill of exceptions and the printed record are in such an obscure, confused, and contradictory condition that [54]*54we cannot attempt to review the case npon the facts with any assurance that we will not be committing instead of correcting error. About seventy amendments were proposed to the bill of exceptions and filed with the clerk, with the stipulation that all but four of them should be “ and a/re hereby incorporated in said bill,” but no attempt was made to embody them in the bill. The appellant seems to have embodied some of them in the printed case, but respondent’s counsel devotes seven pages of his brief to showing in detail that many of them were not so printed and that matter •agreed to be stricken out had been printed and insisted on by appellant as ground for reversal. The court is left to locate these amendments in their proper places, and then to ascertain, if possible, how nearly the printed case conforms to the record when thus corrected. It is obvious that the bill of exceptions has been prepared and settled in entire disregard of correct practice, and ample cause existed for .striking it out. The case appears to have occupied the attention of the referee fourteen days, and the circuit court seems to have carefully reviewed and in some respects corrected his report in minor particulars, increasing the amount found due from the defendant to the plaintiff about $172; but of this increase no complaint is made. We cannot, in this condition of the record, safely affirm that the referee or court erred in any of its findings as to the facts.

4. The contention that the referee erroneously refused to .admit proof to show that the Stacy Logging Company, consisting of the parties to this action and three others, was not •a financial success and was heavily indebted, and that the charge against that company, as it appeared upon the books «of the Keshena store, for $2,528.16, had not been paid, and that the defendant had not received any portion thereof, is not sustained by the record. The statement of this ruling in the bill appears to have been stricken out by amendment. This sum of $2,528.16 is for goods and supplies sold by the [55]*55parties to this action to the Stacy Logging Company, and ■was dne to their firm. Whether it had been paid to or the defendant had received the benefit of that sum as a credit in his personal account and dealing with the Stacy Logging Company, was a question tried before the referee and determined in favor of the plaintiff, and that finding was approved hy the court.

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Bluebook (online)
62 N.W. 627, 90 Wis. 46, 1895 Wisc. LEXIS 222, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/green-v-stacy-wis-1895.